"I am so convinced to be right that you can only kill me once but if you could execute me two times, and if I could be reborn two other times, I would live again to do what I have done already."~Bartolomeo Vanzetti moments before being sentenced

PROTESTERS have been beaten as they poured into streets in the capitals of Algeria and Yemen in the wake of the uprising in Egypt.

Both nations are fighting endemic poverty and Islamist insurgencies or cells. In Yemen, some protesters have called for their president to go as they celebrated the uprising in Egypt. In Algeria, protesters have so far stopped short of demanding a change of power.

In both countries, security forces acted to quash the demonstrations before they could gain the foothold seen in Egypt and Tunisia.

Thousands of riot police sealed off the Algerian capital to prevent activists from holding a banned pro-democracy rally a day after Egypt’s Hosni Mubarak was toppled.

Police blocked off streets in Algiers, set up security barricades at strategic points along the march route and baton charged protesters at the unauthorised gathering, forcing organisers to call off the demonstration.

Many arrests were reported as police tried to disperse the crowd, who were chanting slogans including “No to the police state” and “Bouteflika out”, – a reference to President Abdelaziz Bouteflika, who has led the North African nation since 1999.

The Algerian government imposes, upon its own citizens, intolerable restrictions on their basic liberties. The Algerian government wants to enforce a future where injustices remain unchallenged and where existing exploitation of one man by another remains unpunished. The Algerian government hides the truth from its citizens and denies them free expression and access to information. Let’s call for an end to censorship. Now is the time for freedom and transparency, a time for people to express themselves freely and to be heard from anywhere across the world. How else than through well informed citizens can a society prosper and flourish?

The Algerian government hereby declares itself an enemy of Anonymous and the people. Anonymous hears the cries for freedom from the Algerian people, and has decided to step up. We cannot, and will not, remain silent while this injustice is being done. Anonymous will help them in this struggle against oppression. We believe the Algerian attempts at censorship and oppression are doomed to fail if each one of us takes up our individual responsibilities: For only we, the people, decide to make it so.”

~statement from #OpAlgeria press release

With Hosni Mubarak gone from Egypt, people around the world are starting to realize their collective power and agency. With this in mind, Algerian protesters plan to demonstrate tomorrow on the 11th despite a longstanding ban on demonstrations. This ban has been in effect for 19 YEARS ever since the Algerian Civil War. The Algerian government has promised the state of emergency will be lifted, but protesters are skeptical. The National Coordination for Change and Democracy (CNDC) has called for tomorrow’s demo. The CNDC is a coalition of opposition protesters, unions, parties, movements and the like. In other words, there is a MASS opposition movement like we’ve seen in egypt. The protesters goal for this demonstration: The lifting of the state of emergency of course, the immediate resignation of the Algerian president, an end to censorship and bans of political parties and a whole laundry list of other government abuses. Put simply, they are a pro-DEMOCRACY opposition. Already there are 30,000 police in Algiers in anticipation of the protest.

And you guessed it, online activist group Anonymous has an operation to show solidarity with the algerian demonstrators:

And here’s the press release

And to anyone that says these freedom ops by anonymous don’t do anything but DDOS, here’s a link to the care package being distributed allowing Algerians to circumvent internet censorship and surveillance. (The same thing was done in #OpEgypt btw)

“Congratulations Egypt!
Sisters and Brothers of Egypt today is momentous. Today you write proud history. Today you lift our hearts and we will celebrate with you. Today, we, are all Egyptians.
We are happy to witness the fire of freedom being lit in Egypt. This is another great victory in the lengthy struggle against the oppressive regimes and dictatorships that have plagued humanity for centuries.
You have successfully embraced freedom and the right to determine your own destiny. We have been standing with you, following every minute of your struggle. You have rightfully comandeered a page in history. Your achievement is an example to be heralded throughout the ages. Future generations will thank you. Your peaceful protest never gave way to violence. You did not succumb to coercion or manipulation. You are truly proof positive that the will of the people is supreme.
As you demand your freedom of assembly, freedom of speech, freedom of information, and realise the transparency of your government, be vigilant, and protect the freedoms you have fought so hard to earn.
People of Egypt, you have endured the atrocities that have been ordered against you by The Mubarak Regime. You have eradicated all obstacles that have been placed in your path to halt the conquest for democracy and freedom. You overcame the fear that held you down for decades, and showed the world the power that people possess when they overlook their differences and unite under one cause.
Know that we support you. Know that you are not alone.
We whole-heartedly applaud those who spoke out in the face of adversity and refused to be silenced. We praise the courageous journalists, online organizers, and the citizen reporters who kept the world up-to-date. We will remember those who lost their lives and spilled their blood as they demanded their freedom.
A message to all who would deny the people their freedoms:
Dictators are falling like dominoes; the people will win. The people have shown once again that their voice cannot and will not be silenced. This movement is unstoppable. Anonymous, and the will of the people, will live on and continue to grow. Choose your next move carefully.
This battle has been won, but the fight for freedom goes on.
Yesterday Tunisia, today Egypt, tomorrow …?
We are Anonymous.
We are Legion.
We do not forgive.
We do not forget.
We love you.”

Mubarak Steps Down as President, Army Takes Over

Egypt’s embattled President Hosni Mubarak abruptly stepped down as president, ending his 30-year-reign, and Egyptian armed forces will take over the leadership of the country, Vice President Omar Suleiman announced today.

Crowds gathered in Cairo’s Tahrir Square erupted into loud cheers, chanting “Egypt is free, Egypt is free,” as the historic announcement was made.

“My fellow citizens. In this difficult time that the country is going through, President Mohamed Hosni Mubarak has decided to relieve himself of his position as president and the Supreme military council has taken control of the state’s affairs. May God protect us,” Suleiman said during his somber one-minute announcement on TV.

The surprise statement brought to an end Mubarak’s 30-year rule, making him the second Arab leader forced to quit by a remarkable populist and largely peaceful uprising. Last month, Tunisia’s president Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali resigned and left the country in the face of massive street protests against his regime.

Timing of Mubarak speech was no accident, says expert

(CNN) — The timing of Hosni Mubarak’s speech Thursday night to the nation was no accident, said Prof. Saad Eddin Ibrahim, a sociologist and visiting scholar at Drew University in Madison, New Jersey, who was imprisoned three times by Mubarak.

“He’s trying to preempt a call for a general strike tomorrow,” Ibrahim told CNN Thursday in a telephone interview, noting that workers began joining the demonstrations early this week and were calling for demonstrations throughout Egypt on Friday. “Usually, after the Friday prayer, people congregate, so he was trying to preempt that.”

But Ibrahim — who said he taught Mubarak’s wife and children — predicted that the Egyptian president will not succeed. “Partly, because he is no longer trusted — especially by the young people. Maybe the middle-aged or older people, who are not in the street in the first place, would give him the benefit of the doubt.”

The 72-year-old professor said he was departing New Jersey on Friday for Egypt to join the protesters.

Though he said the prospect that the demonstrators might resort to violence was a real one, he held out the hope that it would not come to that. “So far, the only people who used violence are the pro-government people,” he said. “I salute these young protesters for being self-disciplined, for being peaceful, restraining themselves.”

Fury as Mubarak refuses to go

Anti-government protesters rally after a speech by Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak in Tahrir Square last night. Photograph: Chris Hondros/Getty Images

Egyptian protesters enraged at president Hosni Mubarak’s refusal to step down streamed into Cairo’s Tahrir Square this morning in what organisers billed as their biggest show of indignation as a wary military looked on.

As the sun rose over the city, thousands of anti-Mubarak protesters gathered in Tahrir (Liberation Square) and troops in army tanks and armoured vehicles looked on.

“We will hold him to account, we will hold him to account,” they chanted. Others emerged from dozens of tents and makeshift shelters where they had bedded down for a night of frustration and disappointment having turned up for a resignation speech only to hear Mr Mubarak say he planned to hand over powers to his deputy.

Suleiman, a friend to the US and reported torturer, has long been touted as a presidential successor.

On January 29, Omar Suleiman, Egypt’s top spy chief, was anointed vice president by tottering dictator, Hosni Mubarak. By appointing Suleiman, part of a shake-up of the cabinet in an attempt to appease the masses of protesters and retain his own grip on the presidency, Mubarak has once again shown his knack for devilish shrewdness. Suleiman has long been favoured by the US government for his ardent anti-Islamism, his willingness to talk and act tough on Iran – and he has long been the CIA’s main man in Cairo.

Mubarak knew that Suleiman would command an instant lobby of supporters at Langley and among ‘Iran nexters’ in Washington – not to mention among other authoritarian mukhabarat-dependent regimes in the region. Suleiman is a favourite of Israel too; he held the Israel dossier and directed Egypt’s efforts to crush Hamas by demolishing the tunnels that have functioned as a smuggling conduit for both weapons and foodstuffs into Gaza.